Stuck on block 88288, here. Not sure if I'm on the right blockchain or what. Latest client.

That answers that question, then.

It's a little of both. It's bad for all altcoins, except for those that manage to rise above the noise. There's so much BTC spread against different cryptos now that it's no longer about getting a slice of the pie, but seeing if you can get a few crumbs.

Got sources, or is this just speculation?

Feathercoin is to Litecoin what Litecoin is to Bitcoin. Make of that what you will.

Hah, and there's another thread saying NXT is doomed https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=750520.0

Around and around we go. Spin spin spin.

Potcoin Kettlecoin Blackcoin.

(I don't think Kettlecoin exists yet)

I don't think it makes it a scam. I think this is what happens when you have big ideas, and it takes a long time to realise them. Investors get cold feet, and start selling on. This is entirely natural market reaction. Only NEM, who say they can do this or do that, can change the situation, but this is exactly the kind of behaviour I expect from people. Everyone wants to be rich right now, and people cannot wait.

If I knew enough about NEM, and thought it had a future, I'd be buying, but as I don't know enough and don't know if it has a future, I won't be.

That's the issue, though. Ethereum hasn't done anything yet. Which is no different than any other IPO. It can make lofty promises, but whether it can deliver on them, and even if it could, if the market takes any interest in it, is another matter.

Right now that's two big IFs. This forum is always talking about the "next big thing", which almost always turns out not to be. I just think people need to be pragmatic. Put yourself in the shoes of someone even Ethereum. How would you hear about it? Would you use it? Would you understand it?

You've got to come at this from a position that we, the crypto community, understand crypto. Everyone else doesn't, and Ether is very much being sold on a basis that we understand. I can understand that as an investor, you're going to want to praise Ethereum and sell it as the next big thing, but don't get blinded by a group of investors telling each other the product is great, when non-investors might not agree. If you hear someone praising Ether highly, then they have an invested interest in it doing well, regardless.

Is an investor a reliable, unbiased opinion on Ethereum? Of course not. It's the non-holders you should pay attention to most, whether it be positive or negative.

Taking a value, and then working out how much more of a percentage increase its gained since then, is what it can also potentially lose. So a coin can get 1000% value if its price has increased 10-fold from that point.

A lot of coins have new features that appeal to the crypto nuts, but rarely ever is a new feature geared towards making crypto simpler for new users. It's one big crypto feature circle-jerk.

Anything that takes "years" to realise any sort of potential already makes me weary.

I think Litecoin has an advantage, and it's not innovation, it's just being early to market. It's one of the first altcoins. The only reason Doge is dying is because they screwed it up by making it inflationary. If they didn't do that, it would have stood a good chance, too. Being the first big meme coin.

Being first to something can often overcome technical shortcomings. Bitcoin seems quite dated compared to some cryptos coming out, but Bitcoin was first, and paved the way, the same way a lot of altcoins used litecoin for their basecode.

Someone's already announced a method of combating DNA Cryptocurrency using TFH.

Tinfoil hats.

Big red font not enough for you? 

There's nothing wrong with having complex features under the hood, but that's where they belong. Under the hood. I downloaded the Bytecoin wallet recently. What average person in the street is going to have any clue how to use a command-line interface? The only way cryptos will gain any kind of public following is if they simplify the wallet even more, but still allow advanced users to use the full interface. Stick the current wallet under an "advanced" setting, and focus on simplifying the wallet so much my gran could understand it

A crypto your average person in the street could understand.

Yeah, I never would have written it off until they introduced the inflationary cap. Way too much downward pressure on the market. There's no point even holding it. It's constantly inflating.

Didn't even think ripple was an altcoin..

Yeah, it's quite scary how unsubstantial Ether actually is. It's not even a currency. It doesn't even have a supply cap. It's a digital IOU. The whole concept just seems very convoluted, and more to appeal to investors than developers. Right now you're paying for an idea. Not a product.